Elasmobranchs such as the dogfish shark Squalus acanthius achieve osmotic homeostasis by maintaining urea concentrations in the 300- to 400-mM range, thus offsetting to some degree ambient marine osmolalities of 900-1,000 mosmol/kgH(2)O. These creatures also maintain salt balance without losing urea by secreting a NaCl-rich (500 mM) and urea-poor (18 mM) fluid from the rectal gland that is isot...

Interdisciplinary field experiments for global change research are large, intensive efforts that study the controls on fluxes of carbon, water, trace gases, and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere at a range of spatial scales. Forest ecophysiology can make significant contributions to such efforts by measuring, interpreting, and modeling these fluxes for the individual comp...

Three genetic corneal dystrophies [congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy type 2 (CHED2), Harboyan syndrome and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy] arise from mutations of the SLC4a11 gene, which cause blindness from fluid accumulation in the corneal stroma. Selective transmembrane water conductance controls cell size, renal fluid reabsorption and cell division. All known water-channellin...

While isotopes are frequently used as tracers in investigations of disease physiology (i.e., 14C labeled glucose), few studies have examined the impact that disease, and disease-related alterations in metabolism, may have on stable isotope ratios at natural abundance levels. The isotopic composition of body water is heavily influenced by water metabolism and dietary patterns and may provide a p...

This study focuses on the preparation and modification of a thin-film composite (TFC) hollow fiber polyamide membrane fabricated by the interfacial polymerization of Piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on a porous polysulfone substrate. The effects of triethylenetetramine (TETA) and silica nanoparticles (SiO2) contents in the aqueous phase (as the additives) on the morphology and perf...

In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) was used to optimize the preparation condition of polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) microporous membrane by thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) method. A mixture of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) was used as diluent. The effect of polymer composition and qu...

[1] We present new isotopic and micropaleontological data from a depth transect on Shatsky Rise that record the response of the tropical Pacific to global biotic and oceanographic shifts during the mid-Maastrichtian. Results reveal a coupling between the upper ocean, characterized by a weak thermocline and low to intermediate productivity, and intermediate waters. During the earliest Maastricht...

Line-by-line calculations in the spectral region 2 000–20 000 cm (0.5–5 μm) were made to assess the impact of a variety of water vapor spectral databases on the accuracy of solar flux calculation in the atmosphere. The CKD1 and CKD2.4 continuum models were also compared. The maximum disagreement in the calculated solar surface flux due to all the investigated factors can reach 5.9 W/m for midla...

A Brownian particle's random motions can be rectified by a periodic potential-energy landscape that alternates between two states, even if both states are spatially symmetric. If the two states differ only by a discrete translation, the direction of the ratchet-driven current can be reversed by changing their relative durations. We experimentally demonstrate flux reversal in a symmetric two-sta...

This work presents a rigorous numerical validation of analytical stochastic models of steady state unsaturated flow in heterogeneous porous media. It also provides a crucial link between stochastic theory based on simplifying assumptions and empirical field and simulation evidence of variably saturated flow in actual or realistic hypothetical heterogeneous porous media. Statistical properties o...